Equipment Report ELECTRONICALLY REPRINTED FROM MAY 14, 2015

REL S/5 Subwoofer You Complete Me Neil Gader

If REL Acoustics, the highly regarded subwoofer manufac- turer, pulled out of the high-end marketplace tomorrow, never again to manufacture another unit, its place in the audio pantheon would forever be assured. REL has offered superb build-quali- ty and high standards of bass reproduction since the company was founded in 1990. Thankfully for bass fans everywhere, noth- ing has changed in its latest venture, the S/5, which may be the best-performing midpriced sub REL has offered in its vaunted history. The S/5 goes about its tasks so matter-of-factly, effort- lessly, and invisibly that it seems to become another attractive fix- ture in the room—until you pull it from the system. Then you understand what authentic low bass brings to the party. You also begin to understand the meaning of…addiction. The REL S/5 is the kingpin of the freshly minted S Series, a line brand are another story. They optimizing placement. In my second only to the big Gibraltar subs in the REL lineup. Tipping have purposefully designed experience, dialing in an REL the scale at seventy pounds, the S/5 is not small, but it isn’t a re- drivers and low- and high- is a matter of a few easygo- al-estate hog, either. The S Series enclosures are visually lavish and pass crossovers to pair with ing minutes rather than hours lavishly inert. Sporting 1 1/8”-thick cabinet walls, my gloss-black designated models (Revel, of hand-wringing. My advice: sample was superb in fit and finish. The solid T-304 stainless steel among others, comes immedi- Bring a friend for fine adjust- grab handles are first cast, then micro-machined, and finally pol- ately to mind as a specialist in ments. (Because of the added ished in a six-stage process. The polished aluminum trim pieces— these matters). In any case, no expense, I hesitate to mention such as the footers—elegantly accent its dark good looks. high-pass filtering for the S/5. that if you have a “problem” Inside the S/5 is a new forward-firing 12” alloy-cone woofer. The back panel houses a room, setup is easier with two According to John Hunter, REL’s Woofer-in-Chief, this driver’s ex- phase toggle and rotary set- subs, as they work together cursion has been increased to a full two inches, an improvement tings for the low-frequency to smooth and flatten overall of a ¼”. He also points out that the cone’s moving mass has been effects (LFE) level and for room response, and thereby reduced almost 60 percent by his reckoning, and that it is “self-qui- volume, plus the tiniest 39- become less of a sonic pres- eting,” which is to say, it is so non-resonant that it stops as quick- step increments for adjusting ence. This was an experience ly as it starts. Additionally, there’s a downward-firing 12” passive the crossover over the range that I enjoyed first-hand with a driver with a unique carbon diaphragm that is similarly stiff and of 30–120Hz. There are dual pair of S/5s, but that’s a story lightweight. REL says that the S/5 uses a simple filter-type that’s low-level RCA inputs, plus an for another time.) quite fast—with about eight milliseconds in group delay—to elimi- LFE input, but the high-level nate the passage of unwanted higher frequencies to the REL driver. input is and has always been Mood Elevator Power is also superior to that of its predecessor, the discontinued REL’s preferred means of There are two sets of cri- R-528. The S/5 now uses a NextGen2 550W switching amplifier installation. A lengthy Neutr- teria that I use to evaluate that can generate up to 873W on hard transients. ik connector is provided for subwoofers. There’s overall Per tradition, REL subs do not use high-pass filters—the main this purpose. It carries with- bass quality (extension and speakers run full-range, full-time. REL’s view is that high-passing in its jacket four wires for musicality), and then there’s the sub/sat looks good on paper, as it allows the main speakers connection to an amplifier’s integration (the subwoofer’s to perform with less stress and more dynamism. But REL also speaker taps. ability to blend with the main believes that high-pass filtration creates more problems than it REL suggests starting with stereo speakers). Net: Does it solves. Why? Because the main speakers are designed and voiced corner placement, usually on a remain true to the character to operate within a specific range of frequencies, and by cleaving room diagonal. This not only and voice of the satellites? away a portion of that output via a high-pass crossover you are maximizes room gain but also In the tight confines of essentially refashioning the speaker into a different, even unpre- allows “for the most linear true my listening room, the S/5 dictable unit never contemplated by its designer. That’s why—at low bass wavelaunch.” The wasn’t even breathing hard as least under their breath—many designers don’t actively embrace set-up manual REL provides it extended response into the third-party subs, high-pass or not. Subwoofers from the same is quite comprehensive (with- middle twenty-cycle range. out being intimidating) about It did so without calling at- Equipment Report

color and timbre, gradients a sucked-out lower midrange Specs & Pricing of shadow and light. The S/5 and upper bass will sound a lit- Type: Front-firing subwoofer, with downward-firing establishes the musical con- tle bass-light and dynamically passive radiator text for what is to come. For lean. And attempting to mask Drivers: 12” woofer, 12” passive example, without the open- such a tonal deficit by raising Frequency response: 21Hz -6dB ing 30Hz organ pedal point the output and crossover point Power: 550W Dimensions: 17.5” x 18” x 20” that introduces Strauss’ Thus of the S/5 will only smear Weight: 70 lbs. Sprach Zarathustra, or the midrange detail and create a Price: $2,500 deeply ominous synth note noxious midbass bump that that kicks off Dire Straits’ further decreases the sense of REL ACOUSTICS NORTH AMERICA epic “Telegraph Road,” listen- sub/sat integration that, after 800 Addison St. Berkeley, CA 94710 ing to these pieces would be all, is the desired effect. Also, (510) 990-6005 like listening to a Shakespear- with smaller compact moni- rel.net ean sonnet with the opening tors, care should be exercised quatrain lopped off. On the in gain-matching the more dy- tight, crisp bass intro to Hol- namically limited satellite with tention to itself—no overhang, perceived box coloration or, to ly Cole’s cover of “I Can See the much higher dynamic lim- use the sonic slang, “slowness” in its response. In all honesty the Clearly” from Temptation, the its of the sub. S/5 will go even lower, but my room struggled to support 25Hz REL captures the optimistic What about value? Put it without the doors rattling and the space over-pressurizing. The bounce and jauntiness of the this way, if you consider that S/5 makes short work of large-scale orchestral pieces laden with instrument—character that’s you can easily spend a $2500 timpani and bass drum. Every decaying flutter off the skin of pivotal to the upbeat emotion on a couple of power cords, these instruments is presented concisely and cleanly, and often of the song. Similarly, from then the real value of the S/5 in overwhelming detail. Small-scale, low-level cues don’t escape the opening bar onward, the comes into crystalline focus. the S/5, either. Towards the end of Jackson Browne’s “Colors of forward placement of Ray From time to time I meet the Sun” from For Everyman, there’s a repeated piano and drum Brown’s standup bass imme- audiophiles who continue to motif that resolves into a deepening bass note that seems to rip- diately signals listeners that insist that subwoofers are the ple, sustain, and expand as if suspended in space. Each repetition the album Soular Energy is bane of their audio existence. of the motif is heavier and more resonant than the last, until the about the bass player as front- I don’t know what sort of track begins a long fade. The bass notes hardly exist at all without man, not backing musician. deep-rooted, sub-bass trau- the help of the S/5. Similarly, during Yes’ “It Can Happen” from Of equal importance is the ma they were exposed to in 90125, there’s a recurring bass line where the bassist slides his ambient information that the their earliest high-end years, finger down the string, the pitch plunging as if tossed off a cliff. REL reproduces. This baby but I’m here to tell you that Most speakers by themselves can’t reproduce the full weight of can move a lot of air. Take a fa- the only drama I experienced these descending notes convincingly. The S/5 can. miliar piece like “Lux Aeterna” during my time with the REL What makes its performance special, however, is not its obvious from the Rutter Requiem. The S/5 was the emotion that its power, extension, and dynamic headroom. These exist to degrees hall sound becomes a more ac- evenly weighted balance and that can overpower most medium-sized rooms. It’s its clarity and tive player in the performance full-range musicality brought focus that really impress. Credit is owed to the sub/sat transition, when the S/5 is in the system. to the fore. (Plus the separa- which is so seamless that it becomes anyone’s guess where the REL You can hear the air filling with tion anxiety I’m anticipating leaves off and the sats takeover. For me, this is where the believabil- sound around the musicians when REL calls for its return.) ity factor kicks in. For example, when drummer Russ Kunkel plays and chorus, and then hear this In both subtle and not so some tom-tom fills during Carole King’s “Home Again” on Tapes- ambience even more clearly subtle ways the REL S/5 com- try, the drum-skin detail and tuning, and the resonant decay, reveal when the organist hits the low- pleted every speaker system it themselves in full bloom, images locked into position without a est pedal points. And when the partnered with. Ultimately, it’s hint of the S/5 in the sonic picture. This was also true of the kick- organist abruptly stops and the up to every audiophile to ask drum positioned centerstage during Holly Cole’s “Take Me Home.” instrument goes silent, there is himself whether he wants the The weight of the impact didn’t pull towards the corner position a sense of air rapidly escaping whole musical picture—the where the S/5 was sitting—it remained focused dead center within from the venue, like a balloon entirety of the soundscape. If the soundspace. And this wasn’t just the case with the REL aug- suddenly deflating. your answer to that question is menting my compact ATC SCM20s, either. Even a speaker like the A couple of tips to keep in an unqualified yes, then con- gorgeous Kharma Elegance S7 Signature floorstander, certainly no mind: Subs do not operate in sider yourself warned: Don’t sluggard in midbass response and speed, benefitted richly from the isolation. Only well-engineered even think of plugging in the ministrations of the S/5. main speakers with fairly neu- S/5 if you ever expect to use Less obviously, the S/5 enhances the mood of a performance tral low-end response will ex- that outlet again. An excep- in the way it conveys sweeping and subtle landscapes of tonal cel with subwoofers. Sats with tional performer in any class.

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